D.I.Y Macrame Gift Ribbons - The Nautical Knot

Sarah Radhanauth
December 05, 2017

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Welcome to our series of D.I.Y Gift Wrapping using Macaramé knot making techniques.

Have you noticed that Macrame is back in a big way? You may be familiar with Macrame from the boho inspired aesthetic of the 70's, however, you may be surprised to learn that it's actually been around since the 1300's and was also really popular during the Victorian era.

Given it's continuing popularity It's unsurprising that this trend should be gracing the pages of interior design magazines, pinterest and Instagram again in the 2000's. We just can't seem to get enough! From cushions, to wall hangings, plant hangers, table runners and more this hip textile is cropping up everywhere so we thought we would put our own spin on macrame and knotting techniques with some gorgeous gift ribbons.

We have created 3 different ribbon designs that are all beginner level for you to try. Click on the links below to skip ahead to the next design.

Nautical Knot Gift Ribbon

Skill level: Beginner

What you’ll need

Rope

Scissors

Step 1

Wrap your present. For our gift wrapping we chose to use just a simple brown paper that would allow the ribbons to be the focal point, however you can select any type of wrapping paper your heart desires.

Measure your present with your rope, enough that it wraps around in both directions plus an extra 10% for the knot and enough to tie off at the end. If you have extra rope, then it’s more to play with!
Whatever you have measured, you’ll need to double this. This is how we get the double version.

Step 2

Take your length of rope and fold it in half. Fold it in half again.
Keep in mind your midpoint will be wrapped behind your present so start your knot a bit further down.
When you are looking at your rope in this position, you should see a total of 4 lines of rope, 2 to the left and 2 to the right.

Step 3

Loop your left side.

Step 4

Bring the Right side so that it sits under your loop.

Step 5

Carry the Right side over, so that it lays over the top L1 and under L2.

Step 6

You continue to carry the right side rope over L3, under R1 and over L4.

Step 7

Breathe. You got this!
Position the midpoint in one corner of the present.

Step 8

Start to pull the lengths of rope taunt slowly. Ensure that your top still stays in the corner.
By pulling gently, you can adjust the ropes accordingly.

Step 9

Place the knot in the middle or slightly off center

Step 10

Turn the present around and match up your lengths of rope to tie them together.

Step 11

Play around with your knots.
Unravel the ends of the rope to create a more fun appearance, you can also knot off the ends if you wish.

Hey presto! Your first gift is done! Now if you would like to move onto the next two ribbon styles, visit the articles below:

We hope you found this article helpful. We would like to thank our very own Bee Nguyen who is the creator and maker of these wonderful macrame designs, along with the following retailers for providing us with the their gorgeous products for our shoot.